


One of the Guys

by Patt (PattRose)



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Angst, Cancer scare, Established Relationship, Friendship, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-25
Updated: 2012-11-25
Packaged: 2017-11-19 11:06:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/572590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PattRose/pseuds/Patt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Connor has become a detective in Major Crimes, has become a citizen and now feels like she fits in with the rest of the group.  But there always has to be a reason why things don’t work out as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One of the Guys

One of the Guys  
By Patt

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i121/PattRose1/?action=view&current=Megan-Banner-Base-03.jpg)

Megan Connor was on a mission that day. After studying for weeks, she finally got up the nerve to take the test to become an American citizen. She had found an attorney to help her with the cause and he was a gem. She had wanted to ask Sandy to help her study, but was so afraid of failing that she didn’t want anyone to know. But there were some people that she did tell and that were her mum, dad and her brothers. They were all expecting her to come back to Australia and marry the man they had basically chosen for her to be with for the rest of her life.

Her family was wonderful and she loved them dearly, but they still believed in a lot of old ways. Megan wasn’t going to marry a man she didn’t love. The family wouldn’t have made her marry him, but still. The family also expected her to give up being a police inspector so that she could raise a family. No, this was the best thing Megan could do for this time in her life. She wanted to meet someone here in the States that she could fall in love with the old-fashioned way and if they wanted a family down the road, she could do both. Her parents were disappointed in her decision, but said they understood. Megan really hoped they did. She knew one thing and that was her parents and her brothers loved her unconditionally. 

She had to do a lot of checking on the US and Australian citizenship before she made up her mind. Megan knew she wanted to be able to call both places home and the US and Australian would let her do just that. She had to get a new passport to go along with her original one. Being from two countries did make for some problems while traveling, but nothing to complain about. 

 

As she took the test, she found it odd that they asked such hard questions and she also wondered if the people she worked with would be able to pass this test. She thought about Henri Brown and Brian Rafe and almost chuckled aloud. They were such kidders; she couldn’t imagine them taking anything so seriously. Then again, what did she know? As she got close to finishing, she was feeling good about it. She had remembered almost all of the questions and thought she was doing well. Time would tell. They told her that after the test, she could wait and they would tell her the results. She handed in the test and sat down and waited for her results. 

Megan had her green card for the last five years and wanted more than that. You had to stay in the United States for 30 months out of the last 60. Megan was so excited about actually being able to discuss politics and vote for something she believed in. Her mind wandered to all sorts of things while she waited. She was grateful that she didn’t tell Sandy about this, because if she failed, it would be too much to handle. 

Suddenly, she heard her named called and walked up to the desk. The woman behind it told her that she had passed and would be taking her into a room with a lot of others that would be sworn in. Megan was having a hard time controlling her tears. She couldn’t believe she had done it. Megan Connor wasn’t just an Aussie anymore. The bullpen gang were going to be so pleased, Megan knew that much. She followed the woman into the room and saw that many people were crying and wiping their eyes as she was. This was a very proud moment and now she wished Sandy was there to share it with her. As she raised her hand up and took the oath, there were more tears and then she was done. They gave her the paperwork she needed and that was that. When they had gotten to a certain part, Megan felt a little bit upset but her attorney had told her about this oath and she was somewhat prepared. She repeated the words quietly and quickly. "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen." Megan knew that America allowed dual citizenship, so she stopped worrying. 

 

The entire drive to her house, she wondered if anyone could tell her news just by looking at her. She felt so different. She was very proud and couldn’t wait to share the news. Then she realized that she could take the detective first grade test now that she was a citizen. Maybe she would do that first, before she told anyone about becoming a citizen. She drove to the main office and asked who she would see about taking the test. 

“Come with me,” a short, very friendly guy said. 

Megan followed him and wondered if she could pass the test. She had been studying, but could she pass it today? With all that had already gone on, she wasn’t sure. 

“Here you are, you just go in and tell them you’re here to take the test. Do you have your birth certificate with you?” he asked. 

“Yes, I have everything I could possibly need for this day. Now I just need to pass the test,” Megan said. “Thank you for the escort.”

“You are very welcome and good luck with the test,” he said as he walked down the hallway. 

Megan walked in, told the woman in charge what she was there for and she gave her the test to take right away. It was a timed test, so she had to do it quickly. She asked for all of her paperwork and once they got that all settled, she told her where to sit and take the test. She was the only one in the room and Megan found that somewhat comforting. She sure didn’t want twenty other people there when they told her she failed. 

“Once you’re done, give the test to me and then you will be contacted in the next four to six days. Good luck,” the woman in charge said kindly.   
. 

“Thank you,” Megan answered and sat down and began her timed test. She had no time for thinking of anything but the test. It was much harder than she had anticipated and hoped she would remember this the next time she had to take it. She had discovered that she could go from Inspector from Australia to Detective First Grade if she passed the test. If she passed the written test, then there was an oral one and then of course the shooting scores.

Megan got through the test before they called her time up, so she was pleased with that. She walked up to the woman and handed her the completed test. Megan wished with all of her heart that she could find out today. 

“Follow me and I’ll take you to do the marksmanship test. You have to get a passing grade on that too, not just the written. Come on, you’re going to do just fine,” the woman assured Megan. 

“I hope so. I don’t want to let my mates down,” Megan almost whispered. 

They set her up for the next test and the man in charge was really impressed with how well she could shoot. She shot up many, many paper body cutouts and she felt good about this part of the test. Jimbo always told her that she did a fine job shooting, so she wasn’t concerned about that. 

“I’ll put all of the results with your other test and now we can head on over to the oral exam. Let me call Sgt. Michaels. He’s on call for it today. I’m Randy Bradman, by the way.”

“Thank you for all of your help, Randy. I’m a little nervous about the oral exam. I hope I don’t choke,” Megan admitted. 

Randy took her to the room and told her to sit down until her name was called. Megan sat down and followed orders, quickly. After about twenty minutes her name was called by a Captain Robins. Megan knew him from a robbery case she and Jimbo had worked on one time. This might not be so bad. At least she knew the man. He always seemed like a good bloke and she hoped that he would give her a fair shake. 

“Inspector Connor, it’s good to see you again. We haven’t seen each other in almost a year, have we?” Robins asked 

“Yes, it’s been at least a year since we talked. Are you the Captain giving the oral exam today?” Megan inquired. 

Robins smiled. He knew she was nervous. “Connor, don’t worry about anything, you’ll do just fine. Now sit down here across from my desk and we’ll begin the exam. Just remember to be yourself and act like you usually do. Not how you think I want you to act.”

Megan cleared her throat and readied herself for the oral exam. She was excited and nervous at the same time. She felt like she might just be able to do this. 

Captain Robins asked all of his questions and she answered every single one as she thought they should be answered. Captain Robins couldn’t help but smile and said, “You aced it, Connor.”

“Thank you for telling me that much. I’m going to be a wreck waiting for the results on everything else that went on today,” Megan confessed. 

“Don’t worry. It shouldn’t be more than three or four days at the most. Go relax and take it easy. Congratulations on becoming a citizen of the United States,” Robins stated. 

Megan left the building feeling like she had done a good job and the news would be good. But until she heard differently, she wasn’t even going to speak of any of this. Once the news came through, she would tell everyone in the bullpen and put in for a job in Major Crimes. 

Megan drove home and got ready for some heavy duty relaxing. She was going to watch Lethal Weapon all night long. She loved Mel Gibson for some reason. She called and ordered some deli food to have delivered to the house. Tonight was going to be great. Relaxing, eating and just thinking about things as she watched the movie. 

Megan looked around the room and realized she had made this rental home just that, a great home. She loved having her own place and now that she was a citizen she could buy one and would think about asking her landlord if he would like to sell this place. It was a perfect house. She had spare bedrooms and an office for working. She was going to call her landlord as soon as possible. Yes, things were looking up and she was ready for the changes. 

.**

The next four days were a blur. Megan didn’t say anything to anyone about becoming a citizen because she wanted to make the announcements at one time. 

That night when she got home and got the mail, she was nervous seeing Cascade Police Department on the envelope. The wait was over and now she just needed enough nerve to open the letter and read it. Megan’s fingers were trembling as she opened the letter and sat down to read it. She was really glad she was sitting down, because she passed. She made Detective First Grade on the first try. She received a commendation for her marksmanship scores and she had all of the paperwork that would be needed for Simon Banks. Megan knew she wasn’t going to sleep very much that night at all. She was just too damned excited. 

**  
Megan called Simon Banks at home. 

“Banks,” he barked into the phone. 

“Sir, it’s Megan Connor. I was wondering if you could come by my house, I have something to discuss with you at your earliest convenience.”

“I could come over right now, will that do?” Simon asked. 

“Now would be perfect, Captain. Thank you for giving me some time.”

“I’ll see you in a few minutes. Talk to you then,” Simon said before he hung up the phone. 

Megan was a wreck. What if Banks didn’t want her in Major Crimes? What if she only wanted it that bad and didn’t take his thoughts into consideration at all? She began pacing until she heard the knock at the door. 

She opened up and smiled at Simon and tried not to look nervous. 

“Great house, Connor. The last time I saw it, you were just moving in. That was about three years ago, I think. You’ve made it into a beautiful home,” Simon stated. 

“Thank you. Come in and sit down, Captain. Would you like a beer or iced tea?”

“A beer would taste good, but only if you join me,” Simon suggested. 

Megan grabbed two beers and opened them and handed one to Simon. “Come and sit down, I have some things to tell you.”

“I figured as much. What’s going on?”

Megan brought all of the paperwork over to the coffee table and laid it out before Simon. “I’ve been a little busy for the last four weeks or so and this is what I have to show for it.”

Simon looked at the paperwork for her citizenship and the Detective First Grade testing grades. To say he was surprised was an understatement. 

“Why didn’t you tell any of us, Connor?”

“I didn’t want to jinx any of it until I knew that I passed the exam for the police department. Now that I have that, I feel like I can move on and put in for a permanent job in Major Crimes. Do you have an opening?”

“We do. Someone just left tonight. Her name is Megan Conner. We’ll need to replace her as soon as possible. Can I tell everyone at Major Crimes tomorrow?” Simon was smiling and trying not to get tears in his eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Connor. I can’t believe you did all of this all by yourself without anyone’s help. I hope you know that Sandburg is going to have a fit that you didn’t tell him first.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m quite proud of myself, too. Sandy will get over being mad once he learns that I’m staying in the US. I still keep wondering if this is all a big dream. I’m so excited for everyone to hear about this news tomorrow.”

“I see you have dual citizenship. That was a really good idea. I will tell everyone tomorrow morning,” Simon said. 

“I can’t wait for you to tell everyone. I’m so excited,” Megan answered. 

The two of them finished their beers discussing what was going to happen the next day. 

**

Simon looked out into his bullpen and realized it had been five years since Inspector Megan Connor had become part of the team. Now, she was even more a part. She had passed her test for Detective First Grade. She had already filled out all of the papers and would be a permanent member of Major Crime as of that morning. Simon was going to make the announcement when Megan got there. At that moment, Megan walked into the bullpen, all smiles and looking very happy. 

Simon opened up his door and growled, “Connor, my office.”

Jim stood up and said, “Don’t worry, Connor, he doesn’t really sound mad at all. He probably just wants to tell you what a good job you’re doing.”

“Or, he’s mad as hell and we’re keeping her out here instead of in there,” Blair teased. 

“You two… I don’t know what I would do without both of you,” Megan said happily as she smiled all the way into Simon’s office. 

She walked in, shut the door and smiled at her Captain and said, “Let’s do it. I’m ready to let them all know the news.”

“Connor, I’m going to make an announcement about you becoming a detective in just a moment. So get ready for hugs and kisses from the gang,” Simon joked again. “Do you mind if I tell them about you becoming a citizen at the same time?”

“Oh that would be nice,” Megan agreed happily. 

Simon smiled, opened up his door and walked out into the bullpen. “Could Ellison, Sandburg, Taggart, Brown and Rafe come into my office for a moment?”

The ones mentioned all got up and walked into Simon’s office and Simon then shut the door. 

“This is a very proud moment in my life and in Megan Connor’s life. We wanted to share the news with you and invite you to a special dinner tonight at 7:00 at Saccony’s, my treat. Connor has passed the exam for Detective First Grade and she also passed her exam to become a United States citizen.”

“Oh, man, this is awesome news,” Blair said as he rushed up to give her a huge hug. 

“Congratulations, Detective,” Jim said, smiling quite proudly. Then he gave her a quick hug to let her know he was behind her all the way. 

“Thank you, blokes. You have no idea how much this all means to me. I’m going to try and buy my rental house. I can finally set down roots. I know I’ll be staying now. Thank you all for being so good to me through the years. This past five years have passed by so quickly, that sometimes I feel like it was just yesterday that I got here. I love Saccony’s, Simon, so thank you for inviting us all to dinner.“

“It’s the least I could do. I wanted to show my support and happiness for you,” Simon remarked. “Now, let’s go out into the bullpen and tell everyone else the good news. But dinner will just be us tonight. I didn’t think you’d want that many people around you all evening long.”

“Thank you again, Captain. I’m just so excited, I can hardly see straight,” Megan admitted. 

Simon stood in the middle of the bullpen and said, “Could I have your attention, please?”

He then informed everyone of the good news. 

Everyone else in the bullpen then went up and hugged and congratulated Megan on a job well done. Before long, they all went back to doing their jobs and Megan realized she needed to do the same. She smiled once more at Simon and walked over to her desk and sat down. She had tears in her eyes that were tears of joy. She was one of the luckiest people alive to have this many friends, a great job and boss. She started doing her paperwork and all of the noises in the bullpen started up as usual. 

Simon walked into his office for some peace and quiet and a good strong cup of coffee. He sat down at his desk to put a file together for Detective Megan Connor. 

This was indeed a great day. Simon knew that he was proud of her, but he had a feeling that the rest of the gang was just as proud as he was. 

**  
Simon went home at 5:00, changed his clothes and drove to Saccony’s at 7:00. He was really looking forward to this evening. He gave them his name when he walked in the door and they sat him in a separate room with a large table in it. He expected Jim and Blair to be one of the first ones there. Megan would be right after them because she was very punctual also. 

In walked Jim and Blair, both smiling like crazy. “Hi Simon,” Blair called out. 

“Hello, Sandburg, nice to see you here on time,” Simon joked. 

“I’m always on time when I ride with Jim, you know that.”

Jim laughed and said, “Where is the woman of the hour?”

“She’ll be here in a few minutes. I knew you two would be first and she’ll be here next,” Simon said. 

Megan walked through the doorway and smiled at all three men. “Where is everyone else?”

“They’ll be here, Connor. They’re not as punctual as the three of you are. Sit down and tell us more about your day,” Simon ordered. 

“Sandy, I wanted you to be with me for the test for citizenship so bad, but I was too afraid of not passing it. I knew that you would make it all right, but I didn’t want to be embarrassed. I missed having you to tell while I waited for the results from the test for my detective first grade. You have no idea how badly I wanted to talk to you. But I knew I had to wait to tell everyone at the same time. Except for Simon. I had to talk to him about a job and all.”

“I wish you could have come to me, too,” Blair replied. 

Brown, Joel and Rafe walked in at that moment and Simon said, “Thank God, we’re starving.”

The waitress followed the three men into the room and said, “Will this be the entire party?”

Simon answered, “Yes, we’re ready to order drinks and look at menus.”

Joel smiled over at Megan and said, “We’re all so proud of you, Megan. You accomplished a lot in a week’s time. How does it feel being an American citizen?”

“So far, so good. My parents took the news quite well and know that they can come to visit anytime they’d like to. And I can go and see them often too. My brothers were quite proud of everything I did and knowing I did it all by myself made them extra proud. The part I’m happiest about is becoming a permanent member of Major Crime and not just an outsider.”

Brown said, “You were never an outsider, Megan. Okay, maybe the first few weeks, but after that, you blended right into our gang.”

“Thank you, Henri.”

Rafe didn’t want to be outdone by his partner, so he said, “I can’t believe you kept this secret all to yourself for so long. Usually women are blabbermouths.”

All the men laughed and then Megan did too. She loved these men; they were very dear to her heart. 

“Brian, is that your way of saying you’re proud of me?” Megan asked. 

“Of course it is,” Rafe answered, laughing. 

The waitress-Cindy- took their order for drinks and appetizers and left the room. Once she brought the drinks in, she found all of them talking like crazy and had a hard time getting their orders down. Cindy and she really liked this group of people. They were funny and friendly. Cindy finally got everything she needed for their meals to be prepared and left the room. 

“Did you all notice how Rafe was flirting with the waitress?” Jim asked. 

“Her name is Cindy, Jim. Don’t call her the waitress. And yes, we all saw him flirting like mad,” Blair kidded. 

“Can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?” Rafe asked. 

Everyone laughed again. 

Once the meals were brought in, the discussion slowed down, because everyone was busy eating. 

After finishing his dinner, Simon decided to tell Megan a few things. “Connor, you need to fill out some papers tomorrow for me. They’re for insurance, vacation pay and sick time. We need to get them all filled out and into your file. Would you like to come a little early tomorrow to do that?” 

“Sure. I’m still in shock that this is going to be my new life. Thank you all for being my friends and family.”

“Connor, you’re brand new on the job and he’s already calling you in early. Seems unfair to me,” Jim kidded. 

“Not to me. I’m thrilled to have this job and can’t wait to get started. Captain, could I take a long lunch tomorrow to change my license and everything else I need to get done?”

“What else do you need to do?” Simon wondered. 

“I’m going to ask my landlord, who loves me to death, if he’ll sell the house to me. I love that place and I don’t want to move for anything,” Megan said. 

“Good luck, Megan,” Blair said. 

“Thank you, Sandy.”

“I wish you a lot of luck, too, Connor,” Jim added. 

“Thanks, Jimbo.”

“Jim and I are looking at houses right now too. We’d love to be in the same area as you are. That’s a great place to live,” Blair said. 

“Good luck to all of you,” Joel said. 

“Thank you, Joel,” they all said at the same time. 

Before long, Megan yawned and everyone smiled. She was going to sleep like a log tonight, they all knew that much. 

Joel, Brown and Rafe stood up. “It’s time for us to take our leave,” Joel said. 

“Goodnight, mates,” Megan called out. 

As soon as they left, everyone else stood because it was getting late. Simon, for one, felt like he should definitely be in bed. 

“Congratulations again, Connor. We’re all very proud of you and don’t forget to come in early tomorrow,” Simon stated. 

“I won’t. Thank you again, Simon. It was fun watching you and Jimbo argue over who was paying the tip. Jimbo doesn’t like losing. Thank you for coming.”

Megan gave all of them hugs and then walked out the door. She was quickly followed by the three men, who were tired and needed to get home. 

**  
A few weeks earlier, Jim and Blair had decided to look for a house, which was not as fun as they thought it might be. They had been looking for weeks and still nothing. First of all, they knew that Henri and his girlfriend, Hope were getting married soon and offered the loft to them at a reduced rate. Henri was very excited about it. He had always loved the loft, so they would keep it in the family more or less. So once that was done with, Jim and Blair had extra money to work with. 

Their real estate agent was called Barb. She called first thing Saturday morning which happened to be their day off. 

“Ellison,” Jim grumbled into the phone. 

“Hi Jim, its Barb. I have a perfect house for you and Blair to see. Large but not too large, plenty of bedrooms and office space and in the neighborhood you were looking to buy into. Do you want to see it today?”

“What time?” Jim asked. 

“How about in two hours. That gives you both plenty of time to get ready for seeing your perfect house,” Barb teased. 

“I’m glad you think it might be it for us. To tell you the truth, we’re a little tired of looking,” Jim said. 

“I know that Jim. Now get ready and be here in two hours. Oh, this is the address,” Barb rattled off the address and Jim wrote it down as quickly as he could. 

“Bye, Jim.”

“Bye, Barb.”

Blair looked over his shoulder and said, “This is it, huh?”

“She called it the perfect house for us. Keep good thoughts going about it and maybe we’ll have a house at the end of the day.”

Both men got up, got showered and were off in plenty of time. They honestly couldn’t wait to see what type of house she had to show them. 

When they arrived, it was love at first sight. The house was much bigger than they had thought it would be, but it was beautiful.

Barb stood on the sidewalk smiling and she waited for the men to walk up to her. “Did I tell you how perfect it was or what?”

“We’ll wait until we see the inside first,” Blair said, smiling. 

They followed Barb in and started looking at the house. The living room was very large and warm, the kitchen was huge and a dream come true for both men. It had four bedrooms which one could be used as an office and then the dining room was spacious. Yes, Barb was right. This house was perfect. 

“Can we make an offer?” Jim asked. 

“Of course you can. Let’s write it up right now and I can fax it from my office. I’ll call you from there and let you know what they say,” Barb answered. 

The guys went home for the afternoon and waited to hear from Barb. Finally at about 3:00, the phone rang. Blair made a mad dash and answered it. 

“Sandburg.”

“Hi Blair, this is Barb. You got it. They agreed to everything and you’ll have the inspection next week and we’ll call the pest control of your choice so we can get a clean bill of health on the house. Congratulations.”

“Thank you, Barb. I’ll tell Jim. Orkin is a good place to call for pest control. We like them.”

“Talk to you later, Blair.”

“Bye, Barb.” 

Blair got off the phone and jumped into Jim’s lap. “We have a house and we’ll be moved within a month.”

Jim pulled Blair into a very nice kiss and then hugged him. He almost whispered, “We have a house.” 

**

Jim and Blair were unpacking things in their new home and discussing where they would go out to eat that night when there was a knock at the door. Jim knew it was Connor. He could hear her spiked heartbeat and he smelled fear in the air. 

He opened the door quickly and said, “Come on in. Tell us what’s wrong.”

“There is no fooling a Sentinel, is there?” Megan asked. 

Jim pushed her into the sofa and Blair sat next to her. “Now tell us what’s wrong.”

“I found a lump in my left breast and went to have a mammogram. They said that something didn’t look exactly right and they needed to do a biopsy. They told me that I need about two hours for it tomorrow and someone to drive me home afterwards. I was hoping I could count on one of you to go with me and help me through this,” Megan asked, pleadingly. 

Blair got closer on the sofa, throwing his arm around her and said, “Consider it done. I’ll take you, stay with you and take you home afterwards. Jim won’t mind doing all the paperwork at the station, am I right, Jim?”

“You’re right about taking her and staying with her. I hate the paperwork, but for Connor, I’ll put on a happy face and try to hold down the fort,” Jim said. 

Megan got up from the sofa and hugged Jim very hard. “Do you think you could feel the lump and tell me if I have anything to worry about?” 

“Megan, I know nothing about lumps in the breast or biopsies. Blair will stay with you and keep you calm, don’t worry about a thing. I do know that our neighbor had something like this happen once and everything turned out all right. Don’t worry until they give you something to worry about,” Jim advised. 

“Thank you so much for being good friends. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“Megan, are you alright with me telling Simon about this tomorrow, or do you just want to take a few vacation days?” Jim asked. 

“I would appreciate if you told him what was going on, because it will save me having to tell him. Thank you for offering to take care of it. He’ll have to know that I’m taking the time off. May as well tell him why, don’t you agree?” Megan inquired. 

“I agree. I’ll tell him first thing in the morning, but that’s where it ends,” Jim explained.

“Thank you, Jim.” 

They sat and talked for the next two hours about lumps and the scare they put into a person. When Megan left, she was somewhat relieved to know that Sandy would be picking her up the following day for her tests. This seemed to give her more courage than she had before. 

 

Once Jim walked Megan safely to her car, he walked back to the house, locked the front door and said, “God, I hate to hear the word cancer.”

“Let’s hope it’s not cancer, Jim.”

“You can say that again,” Jim agreed with Blair. 

*  
The following day, Jim went to the station house and explained everything to Simon. He hated telling personal things about Connor to anyone, but Simon was her boss. Now Simon was officially worried about Connor too. She had made a great many friends in the station, including him. 

Jim went to his desk and tried to keep busy as to not worry. He knew that worrying would do no one any good. 

*  
Blair picked Megan and took her to the doctor’s office to have the biopsy. While in the car Megan asked, “Sandy will you stay with me while I have the procedure?”

“Megan, I think that’s something very personal and private. I don’t feel like I should be in there with you. You’ll do great. “

“Sandy, please. Don’t make me beg. I have no one else to ask. My family is all in Australia. You don’t have to look at anything, I just need to see your face and hold your hand,” Megan pleaded. 

“Okay…Whatever will make it easier on you is what we’ll do. I’m here for you.”

“Thank you, Sandy.”

“You are most welcome. Did I mention how much it helped us to have you unpack the bedroom with us the other night? You’re a good friend, and we’re very happy to have you in our lives,” Blair said. 

“Oh, I was happy to do that for and with you guys. I love your new house and it’s great having you so close to my house. Do you know that Mitchell in Traffic asked the other day if I knew you guys were gay? I laughed all the way to the elevator and got on. I looked at his stupid face and laughed harder.”

“Megan, you don’t have to defend us, you know?”

“Sandy, I didn’t say a word. Mitchell is a moron. It was like he thought I wouldn’t know without him telling me the newsflash.”

Both Megan and Blair had a small laugh over this and then Blair pulled into the parking lot and parked. Megan held his hand and said, “I’m more scared about this than anything. Being a cop is nothing compared to this.”

“You’re going to be fine. Now let’s get in there, kick butt and take names,” Blair answered. 

Megan took strength from Blair and got out of the SUV. She was never so grateful to have someone on her side. And Sandy was a perfect someone. 

They walked in, Megan filled out all the forms and they sat and waited for Megan’s name to be called. 

The door opened and a nurse stood there and said, “Megan Connor?”

Megan stood up and grabbed Sandy’s hand and held it so hard, Blair knew that he wasn’t going to have feeling in that hand when this was done with. The two of them walked into the procedure room and the nurse said, “This is your boy friend, Ms Connor?”

“No, just a good friend, but… well… having him here…”

“If you’re sure. I need you to take off your blouse, your bra and then put this gown on, opening in the front. The doctor will be here in just a moment. Try and relax.” 

Blair turned around while Megan disrobed and then sat down in one of the two chairs and Megan sat in the other. 

“I’ve always hated these stupid gowns. They don’t cover up much, do they?” Megan asked, trying to make small talk. 

“So Megan, tell me how much you love your house.”

“Oh boy, I do love the house. It’s perfect for me. I was so thrilled when my landlord agreed to sell it to me. I couldn’t have asked for a better house. You like it don’t you?” Megan wondered. 

“I love your house. It’s so comfortable and homey inside and out. I think you should start hosting the poker parties half of the time. Then everyone could see how great your house is too. What do you think of that?”

“Sandy, I think you’re a fantastic friend that is trying to keep my mind off of the needle, but it’s not working,” Megan admitted. 

At that moment, the nurse walked in and said, “Please take this pill, Ms. Connor. It will help relax you a lot.”

“Thank you,” Megan replied. She swallowed the pill and hoped it wouldn’t take long to take effect. She didn’t have that long to wait. It wasn’t ten minutes and she was loopy. 

“Sandy, do you and Jim have anyone you would like me to meet? I’m lonely.”

“We’ll talk about that when the time comes, Megan. For now, just lean back, close your eyes and relax. It’ll all be over soon enough.”

The doctor walked in and asked Megan to have a seat on the examining table. She did, but she didn’t let go of Blair’s hand once. Blair knew she was scared to death. The doctor then leaned her back onto the table and began the procedure. 

The doctor gave her three shots in her breast to keep the pain at bay. When she was numb, he explained everything he was doing. He did an ultrasound to determine where to put the needle, and then extracted the proper fluid. He then closed it all with steri-strips and a bandage that covered half of her breast. 

The entire time, Blair stood on the opposite side of her, holding her hand. She was doing very well as far as Blair knew. 

Then again, what do I know?

The doctor explained that she needed to take two days off from work and rest. She wasn’t to lift anything for a week, change the dressing on the wound every day, sometimes twice a day and call the doctor if she had pain, swelling or anything out of the ordinary. She had little ice packs to put inside her bra to keep the pain to a minimum. Once he was done he left the room, telling her that he would have the results within four days. 

The nurse said, “Let’s sit up and get your clothing back on.”

Again, Blair turned around when she got dressed, even though he had just seen both of her breasts while they did the biopsy. 

When he turned around, Megan was ready to go. Blair helped her out to the SUV and got her buckled in. Then he got in the driver’s side and started the vehicle up. Blair was never so happy to have this all done with. 

Blair then drove her to her home, got her settled in bed and left her with instructions to call him if anything went wrong. She was sound asleep within moments of being laid in the bed. 

*  
When Blair arrived at the station, he never wanted to hug Jim so badly in his life. But they kept their private life out of the station. Home was safe, work was not. 

“Hey Chief, how did it go?”

“Hey Jim, it went great. No problems whatsoever. She’s sleeping off the drug they gave her to relax her and doing well. She’s not going to know the results for at least four days. I need to tell Simon that she can only be on desk duty for a week when she comes back and she has to have the first two days off, all together.”

“I’m wishing her well,” Jim confessed. 

“Tell me about it,” Blair agreed. 

Blair walked over to Simon’s door and knocked. 

“What?” Simon bellowed. 

Blair opened the door and walked in and sat down in front of Simon’s desk. 

“How is Megan, Blair?”

“She needs two days off, starting tomorrow, and then has to be on desk duty with no lifting for the rest of the week. She would have called, but she was totally out of it from the drug they gave her. You should call her tonight and see how she’s doing, she would like that very much,” Blair said. 

“I’ll do that,” Simon promised, “now get back to work. Your partner has been crazed without you to help with the paperwork.”

“Yes, sir,” Blair saluted and walked out smiling, even though he wasn’t too happy at that moment. He was too busy being worried. 

Blair joined Jim in the bullpen and began to get caught up on paperwork. Neither of them mentioned Megan again for the rest of the day. No one in the bullpen asked any questions because Simon had her down as being on vacation time. 

*  
That night, Megan was making a small salad for dinner when there was a knock at the door. She looked out the peep hole and saw it was Simon. She opened up the door, quickly and said, “Come on in.”

“Good evening, Connor. I wanted to stop by and tell you that you have the next two days off and the rest of the week is desk duty with no lifting,” Simon stated. 

“Thank you, sir. I was going to call you tonight. I take it Blair filled you in on what was going on?”

“Yes, he’s kept me apprised of the news so far.”

“Simon, did you put me in for vacation time?.”

“Yes, you are officially off for two more days and then you can tell everyone you pulled a muscle in your back and can’t lift anything. It’s no one else’s business, Megan,” Simon remarked. 

“Thank you, Simon.” 

“How are you feeling tonight?” Simon asked. 

Megan sighed loudly and answered, “I’ll be fine. I don’t want anyone treating me any differently. I want to be treated like one of the guys.”

“With a breast biopsy, I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Simon said. 

“Men get breast cancer, did you know that?” 

“Men? I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Simon replied. 

“Yes, no one is safe from breast cancer. It attacks men, just not as often as women. But I refuse to believe that after all I did to stay in this wonderful city and country, I would lose a battle to cancer.”

“Connor, no one said you were going to lose anything. Now keep upbeat thoughts and keep me informed of the results. I wish you the best,” Simon stated gently. 

“Thank you for stopping by, Simon. It was good of you to do that.”

Simon walked out the door and Megan watched him get into his car and drive off before she shut the door. 

She had felt like crying all day long and this visit from Simon made her feel even worse. They were all expecting the worst case scenario. It was getting harder to keep her chin up. 

All day long, she had thought about how tough she was in her job as a cop, but now with this she found out she wasn’t that tough at all. All she knew was she wasn’t going to let this get her down. She had come too far to let something stop her. 

Megan picked out a movie to watch and grabbed a beer. She was going to relax, if it was the last thing she did tonight. 

*

Two days later, Jim was in the bullpen when Megan called him. 

“Ellison…”

“Hi Jimbo, it’s me. They called me from the hospital with great news. It was benign. They said I have to get it checked every six months for the next two years, but other than that, they gave me a clean bill of health. Could you please tell Sandy?”

“Connor, that’s fantastic news. Blair is going to be so pleased about it. He’s in the break room getting us coffee. I’ll talk to you tonight. Thank God, things are going to be all right,” Jim said happily. 

“Talk to you later,” Megan answered. 

Jim hung up the phone and walked cheerfully into the break room. Rafe, Brown, Joel and Blair were all standing there talking and Jim cleared his throat. “Blair, could I talk to you for a moment?”

“What?” Blair asked worriedly as he joined Jim in the hall. 

“It’s benign. She’s got a clean bill of health. Now, I need to go and tell Simon. Jim hugged Blair, he didn’t care about those rules that they had made for work. Blair held on tight and was very happy. 

Jim walked up to Simon’s office and knocked. 

“Come on in, Jim.”

“Sir, I have news about Connor. I figured you would want to hear as soon as she got the results.”

“So tell me,” Simon ordered. 

“It’s benign. They gave her a clean bill of health. She’ll be back tomorrow for desk duty and couldn’t be happier about it.”

Simon grabbed Jim and hugged him and then stepped back. “This could have been so bad. Thank God, we got good news for a change. Bailey in Traffic got lung cancer and he was gone in a month. I was really worried.”

“We all were, Simon.” 

“Thank you for the news. Get back to work,” Simon said gladly. 

They all worked their cases and Jim and Blair were looking forward to Connor coming in the next day. She had better be ready for hugs. 

*

Blair called Megan from the SUV on the way home. Jim was driving, so it left Blair free to make calls and talk with his friend. 

“Connor…”

“Hi, we were wondering if you wanted to go out to eat tonight and celebrate. I think this is the best news we’re heard in a long, long while. Do you feel up to dinner at Claim Jumper?”

“Oh, Sandy, you are so thoughtful. Thank you. I would love to go for dinner. You can invite the entire gang if you want. We could meet at 7:00 if that’s all right with you guys.”

“It’ll just be the three of us. There is no need to handle anyone at work. They think you pulled a muscle in your back. We’ll pick you up,” Blair suggested. 

“Okay, I’ll be ready at 7:00. Thanks again, Sandy.”

Blair closed his cell and smiled at Jim. 

“Thanks, for asking her, Chief.”

“No problem, Megan is a good friend and hope to have her around for a good long while. I know you like her too,” Blair said. 

“Except when she calls me Jimbo. I hate that name,” Jim grumbled. 

“It’s a term of endearment, Jim. Get a grip,” Blair joked. 

“I’ll be on my best behavior tonight. It could have easily gone the other way and I would have been devastated,” Jim confessed. 

“Wow, that’s the first time, you’ve ever admitted how much you like her. I’m glad to hear it. Don’t be too nice because she’ll think she’s getting special treatment. Treat her like one of the guys, okay?” Blair asked. 

“Let’s get home, get ready and go treat her like one of the guys. I’ll slug her in the arm and see if that works,” Jim teased. 

Blair laughed but knew that Jim was only teasing. 

Life was good for all of them. 

The end

**Author's Note:**

> Summary: Connor has become a detective in Major Crimes, has become a citizen and now feels like she fits in with the rest of the group. But there always has to be a reason why things don’t work out as planned.   
> Email: PattRose1@aol.com  
> Warning: angst  
> Beta: Bluewolf and Merlin, thank you to both. A special thank you to Bluewolf for naming this baby.   
> Artist: Luna61. Thank you so much for this wonderful piece of artwork.


End file.
